Cybergang moles steal company data

Criminal gangs have been placing staff members in companies to operate as moles, an internet security expert said this week.

In a podcast interview, Peter Wood, member of the ISACA Conference Committee and founder of First Base Technologies, claimed that placing moles is common.

Wood said: “Some people in the banking community have quietly and anonymously said to me over the last year that they have found employees who have been placed in their company by criminal gangs and they have been operating as moles over that period."

Wood said companies often make the mistake of storing sensitive and confidential data in one place, which makes it very easy for criminals to act.

“I think there is a huge gulf between the technical controls that firms put in place and the human and (human relations) control and the physical premises control," he said. "There is little or no communication between the three areas and it's through those gaps that criminals can walk unchallenged.”

Wood said a colleague walked unchallenged into an insurance company and was able to steal data as part of a security exercise. This could be overcome by training, he added.

“If people are given some baseline education as to how to look for criminal activity then they can be the greatest asset any organization could possibly deploy," he said.